Meetings With REIT Management Teams At REIT Week (Part 3/3)
I recently attended REIT Week in NYC, the biggest annual REIT conference in the world, where I participated in roundtable discussions with a number of REIT management teams.
In Part 1, I shared my main takeaways from my meetings with NNN REIT, Prologis, First Industrial, Invitation Homes, and Rexford Industrial.
In Part 2, I covered Rayonier, AH Realty Trust, Realty Income, and EPR Properties.
Today, in Part 3, I will cover the remaining four REITs:
W.P. Carey
Kimco Realty
Crown Castle
EastGroup Properties
As before, I will focus on the unique insights that I gained from the management discussions, rather than repeating generalities about these companies.
W.P. Carey (WPC)
W.P. Carey appears to have a much cleaner story today after years of strategic repositioning. It has exited office, recently also sold its operating self-storage assets, and simplified its portfolio into a more focused net lease REIT.
Investment activity is running ahead of expectations. The company raised its 2026 AFFO guidance and now expects $1.5 billion to $2 billion of investment volume this year, largely focused on industrial assets, with attractive cap rates and spreads.
Europe remains a major opportunity. Borrowing costs are lower there, while cap rates are similar to the US or even slightly higher, allowing W.P. Carey to earn wider spreads. The current pipeline is now roughly half weighted toward Europe.
Internal growth is a key differentiator. About half of the portfolio has inflation-linked leases, and recent fixed escalators are often closer to 2.5% to 3.5%, giving W.P. Carey more visible same-store growth than many net lease peers.
The balance sheet is well-positioned, with about $650 million of forward equity, a nearly fully undrawn $2 billion revolver, and enough funding to cover this year’s investment guidance. Combined with a roughly 5% yield and mid-single-digit growth potential, the stock appears positioned for low double-digit total returns before any multiple expansion.
